Extruded label holder

ABSTRACT

A label holding strip is formed of extruded plastic material, with front and back panels joined integrally along the bottom region of said strip to form an upwardly opening pocket for the reception of labels. The upper portions of the panels are of a generally uniform thickness, while the bottom region of the strip, preferably in the form of a forwardly projecting lobe, is of a significantly (20% or more) greater thickness. A smooth transition region joins the thinner and thicker portions of the strip. The front and rear panels, in the lower portions, are spaced apart a distance not less that the thickness of labels intended to be inserted therein. Upper portions of one of the panels, typically the front panel, curve toward the other panel for gripping a label inserted in the pocket.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention is directed to label holder devices, suchas are mounted at the front edge of merchandise display shelving, at theouter ends of merchandise display hooks, etc., in order to displaylabels containing pricing and other product information.

[0002] A known and advantageous form of label holder is comprised of acontinuous extrusion of plastic material which is configured to formfront and back panels, joined along bottom edge regions of each,typically by means of a forwardly projecting lobe, and forming anupwardly opening pocket for receiving labels. The front panel is formedof clear plastic material while the back panel frequently is formed of acolored, somewhat opaque material.

[0003] The present invention is directed to improvements in labelholding devices of the general type described to make them more usefulfor the purposes intended and having a longer useful life. Label holdingdevices of the type contemplated are formed of a relatively rigid,although at least slightly flexible plastic material, frequently a rigidpolyvinyl chloride. For inserting and removing labels, the front panelof the label holder is separated from the back panel, to provide accessto the open top of the label holder, for placing and/or removing labels.Repeated accesses to the label holder often result in cracking and/orbreakage because of stresses imposed at the flexing area of the labelholder. Pursuant to one aspect of the present invention, an improvedcross sectional configuration is provided for the label holder, whichinvolves a significant increase in the thickness of the walls of thelabel holder, in a bottom region thereof, including the entire lobe areaand lower portions of the front and back panels immediately above thelobe. The front and back panels, which are principally of uniformthickness in their upper portions, undergo a smooth transition from therelatively uniform thickness of the upper panel portions, to thesignificantly greater thickness of the bottom lobe area. The arrangementis such that the stresses of repeated accesses to the label holder aredistributed over a relatively large region of the cross section, ratherthan being concentrated in any particular region.

[0004] According to another feature of the invention, the spacingbetween front and back panels of the label holder in the region of thelobe is at least as great as the thickness of the labels intended to bereceived in the label holder. Upper portions of the front panel, forexample the upper 30% thereof, are gradually curved back toward, andpreferably substantially into contact with the back panel. With thisarrangement, labels may be easily inserted and removed from the labelholder. At the same time, upper portions of the label are reliablygripped by upper portions of the front and back panels.

[0005] For a more complete understanding of the above and other featuresand advantages of the invention, reference should be made to thefollowing detailed description of preferred embodiment, and to theaccompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a label holder incorporatingfeatures of the invention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the label holder of FIG. 1.

[0008]FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary end elevational view of thelabel holder of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 designatesgenerally the label holder of the invention, it is formed by extrusionof plastic material, typically rigid polyvinyl chloride. Theconfiguration of the extrusion forms a front panel 11, a back panel 12,and a bottom lobe 13 joining the front and back panels. The front panelis formed of a transparent material. The back panel 12 may also beformed of transparent material, but is more typically formed of acolored, usually opaque material. The materials of the front and backpanel are merged typically at a line 14, typically positioned in thelobe area so as to be not readily visible from the front of the labelholder. The back panel 12 is provided with suitable means for mountingthe label holder in a visible position for displaying a label. In onesimple form of the device, the back panel may be provided with anadhesive layer 15 for attachment to the front edge of a display shelf(not shown). However, as those skilled in the art are well aware,additional panels, clips or the like may be provided at the back of thelabel holder for mounting the holder in an existing price channel, forexample, or on a display hook.

[0010] Where the label holder is to be mounted on display shelving, thelabel holder may be of considerable length. Four feet would be typical.In some instances, the label holder may be used in connection withindividual merchandise display hooks, in which case the label holderwould have a length of only a few inches, and would incorporate a clipor the like (not shown) for attaching the label holder to themerchandise display hook.

[0011] In a typical and advantageous embodiment of the invention, thelabel holder might have an overall height of, for example, 1.25-1.50inches, with the front panel 11 being slightly less elevated than theback panel 12, as is evident in FIG. 1. Typical wall thickness for thepanels 11, 12 might be approximately 0.025 inch.

[0012] In the illustrated form of the invention, the front and backpanels 11, 12 are joined at their lower edges by means of the lobe 13,which projects forward from the front panel 11 and forms an upwardlyfacing flange surface 16. In a typical embodiment, the lobe 13 includesa bottom wall 17 which joins the back panel 12 along a corner radius 18.The front edge of the bottom wall joins a front surface portion 19 ofgenerally U-shaped cross section, which joins the lower edge of thefront panel 11 along a radiused corner 20. The upper arm of the U-shapedportion forms the flange surface 16.

[0013] The arrangement of front and back panels 11, 12, joinedintegrally along their bottom edges by the forwardly projecting lobe 13,defines an upwardly opening pocket 21 for the reception of a thin paperlabel containing pricing and other information related to the productdisplayed in the vicinity of the label. The label pocket 21 is accessedby displacing the front panel 11 outwardly a distance sufficient toallow the label to be manually inserted. Likewise, a label alreadyinstalled in the label holder can be engaged manually and removed.

[0014] Repeated accesses to the label receiving pocket 21, for thepurpose of inserting and/or removing labels, results in stressing of thelabel holder in the region in which the front and back panels arejoined, sometimes causing cracking in the stress area and requiringpremature replacement of the label holder. Pursuant to the invention,modifications have been made in the cross sectional configuration of thelabel holder extrusion, to provide for a significant (at least about20%) increase in the wall thickness of the extrusion in the bottomregion of the lobe holder. Additionally, transition zones are provided,for the smooth transition of the wall thickness from the “standard”thickness of the upper portions of the front and back panels, to theincreased thickness of the lower regions. The resulting arrangementprovides that stresses placed upon the label holder during accessing ofthe pocket 21 are distributed over a wide area of the bottom region, andnot concentrated in any particular location. In the illustratedembodiment of the invention, as shown particularly in FIG. 3, the entirelower portion of the label holder, commencing at a point 22 at thebottom of the front panel 11, and extending over the entire crosssection of the lobe 13 to a point 23 at the bottom edge of the backpanel 12, is of a thickness at east about 20% greater than the principalwall thickness of the upper portions of the front and back panels, andpreferably in the range of 20-35% greater thickness. Above the indicatedpoints 22, 23, the wall thickness of the panels 11, 12 is caused totaper gradually from the increased thickness of the lower area to thestandard thickness of the front and back panels.

[0015] With the device of the invention, when the front panel 11 isengaged and drawn forwardly to open the label-receiving pocket 21 foraccess, the deflection stresses imposed upon the lower extremities ofthe label holder are caused to be distributed in a somewhat uniformmanner over the entire area starting from the transition areas 24, 25and extending throughout the entire lobe area. By avoiding concentratedstresses, the functioning life of the label holder can be greatlyextended. This results in significant savings to the merchandiser inthat, not only is the cost of a replacement label holder avoided, butprobably more importantly also the labor cost of removing the damagedlabel holder and installing the new one.

[0016] In accordance with another feature of the invention, the internalconfiguration of the label holder is optimized to improve the appearanceof the display, while providing for effective gripping of the labelswhen installed. To this end, the spacing 26 between the back panels 11,12, adjacent their lower edges (see FIG. 3) is at least equal to thethickness of the label which is intended to be received therein. Thisassures that, after the label has been inserted and the displacementforces holding the label holder open have been released, the upperportions of the front panel will not be displaced excessively to an openposition by the presence of the label 27 between the lower portions ofthe front and back panels. In conjunction with the provision of suchminimum spacing in the lower portions of the label holder, the upperportions 28 of the front panel, typically approximately the upper 30%margin thereof, is configured to curve gradually rearwardly, preferablyinto a position contacting the front surface of the back panel 12, whenno label or other object is interposed between the front and backpanels. This arrangement assures upper portions of the label will befirmly gripped between the front and back panels, after a label has beeninserted therein, and also assures a neat and attractive appearing labeldisplay, which enhances the store owner's effort to create an attractivedisplay of the related merchandise.

[0017] With the label holder of the invention, substantial enhancementsare realized in the performance of the device, with cost savingsrealized by the store owner from reduced maintenance and replacementrequirements. These improvements are realized with little if anyadditional cost of manufacture. The negligibly greater amount of plasticmaterial required in the initial extrusion represents a negligible addedcost in the manufacturing process, and is far more than offset by thesavings realized by reduction in the frequency of replacement requiredin the field.

[0018] It should be understood, of course, that the specific forms ofthe invention herein illustrated and described are intended to berepresentative only, as certain changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly,reference should be made to the following appended claims in determiningthe full scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A label holding strip for displaying price and informationlabels in association with merchandise displays, which comprises, (a) acontinuously extruded section of plastic material including front andback panels joined integrally along a bottom edge region of said stripand forming an upwardly opening pocket for the removable reception oflabels, (b) upper portions of said front and back panels being formedprimarily of a predetermined substantially uniform thickness of plasticmaterial, (c) lower portions of said front and back panels, and saidbottom edge region, being of greater thickness than said uniformthickness.
 2. A label holding strip according to claim 1, wherein (a)each of said front and back panels being formed with transition regionsin which the thickness of said panels increases smoothly from saidpredetermined substantially uniform thickness to said greater thickness.3. A label holding strip according to claim 2, wherein (a) said greaterthickness being at least about 20% greater than said predeterminedsubstantially uniform thickness.
 4. A label holding strip according toclaim 1, wherein (a) said bottom edge region comprises a forwardlyprojecting lobe including (i) a generally horizontal bottom panelextending forward from said back panel, and (ii) an upper flange-formingpanel joined along forward portions thereof with forward portions ofsaid bottom panel and along back portions thereof with said front panel,(b) said portions of increased thickness including all of said bottomedge region and limited portions of said front and back panels above andadjacent thereto.
 5. A label holding strip according to claim 1, wherein(a) said label is designed for holding a label having a thickness notgreater than a predetermined label thickness, (b) said front and backpanels, in a region thereof immediately above said bottom region, beingspaced apart a distance at least as great as said predetermined labelthickness, and (c) said front panel, adjacent an upper edge thereof,being curved inwardly substantially into contact with said back panel.